The invention relates to improved structure for mounting devices such as a loader on the front end of a tractor, and more particularly to an improved loader attachment means which is capable of reliable, secure, quick attachment and detachment of a loader from the front end of a tractor.
Appliances or devices such as loaders are normally attached to tractors to provide a structure for lifting loading or moving material. The tractor is provided with a hydraulic pump for pressurizing hydraulic fluid to operate the loader. Where the loader is to be removed from the tractor and stored, or interchanged with another appliance, it is desirable to have a structure whereby the loader can be quickly detached and reattached to the tractor so that the tractor can be used for other applications.
Different structures have been employed for attaching the loader to the tractor which have generally consisted of mounting frames which are rigidly attached to the tractor and mating attachment means which are a part of the loader. These frames require some method for locking the loader to the tractor in a manner to withstand the forces and stresses which are encountered in operation of the loader. Conventional mounting frames consist of a front and rear structural frame member attached to each side of the tractor generally positioned at a permanently fixed distance apart. Other structures position the frame member at a selection of fixed distances apart.
When mounting a variety of loaders on a variety of tractor makes and models, it is desirable to position a front and rear tractor mounting frame so that they do not interfere with the tractor part, are reliably well supported and are relatively inexpensive to fabricate.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a mounting structure for detachably or releasably connecting an appliance such as a loader to the front end of a tractor wherein the attachment and detachment can be rapidly and reliably accomplished in a manner which is rigid and reliable so that continued operation of the loader and tractor may be relied upon.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved mount for attaching a loader to a tractor wherein the mount is relatively easy and inexpensive to fabricate and is particularly well adapted to be used on a great variety of makes and models of tractors.
An important object of the invention is to provide an improved tractor mount for detachably attaching a loader to a tractor which has an improved correlation between the front and rear mount permitting safe, strong, rigid, reliable attachment and accommodating itself to use on a variety of makes and models of tractors.
A feature of the invention which serves the above stated objectives is to provide a rigid connection between the loader and the tractor mounting frames. It is important to prevent any movement between the loader structure and frame so that the loader functions as an integral part of the tractor. If relative movement is permitted, the tractor operator cannot operate and position the loader as readily as necessary and movement or play in the mechanism will soon cause wear of the parts, and instead of providing a safe secure mount, one results which is loose, noisy and undesirable from the standpoint of sales of the equipment and operation of the tractor. A further object of the invention is to provide a releasable mount which readily accommodates storing the loader when it is not attached to the tractor. This is done by parking the loader in a position where it can be immediately and easily reattached to the tractor by merely driving the tractor into the loader.
A feature of the invention is the provision of a quick attach loader which is attached to the tractor by front and rear tractor mounting frames and provides automatically for an infinite number of distances between the front and rear frames to thereby accommodate a great number of tractor makes and models.
The invention also accommodates a rigid connection between the loader and tractor mounting frames and a parking stand which automatically stores the loader frame and automatically holds the loader frame in position for reattachment when it is removed from the tractor.
A further feature of the invention is the provision of a parking stand which is readily vertically adjustable and accommodates attachments to tractors having different front end attachments of different heights. The usefulness of this feature is that it makes possible automatic attachment of the loader to the tractor by the tractor merely driving into the loader and the parts automatically coming into aligned position between the tractor and loader for firm attachment of the loader to the tractor.
Other objects, advantages and features will become more apparent with the teaching of the principles of the present invention in connection with the disclosure of the preferred embodiment thereof in the specification, claims and drawings in which: